


Only a little

by schneefink



Category: The Bright Sessions (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Mind Control
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2019-01-16 14:16:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12344337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schneefink/pseuds/schneefink
Summary: "Aw, don't worry, big guy, I just need to get his aunt's attention. I'll only hurt him a little."Damien kidnaps Adam.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to finish this story before the new season starts, but didn't quite manage.  
> Content notes: kidnapping, mind manipulation, threats; ask if you need more detail.

"Calm down," Damien said, but Adam's hands wouldn't stop shaking. He tried to take deep breaths, but his chest was too tight.

"I said calm down," Damien repeated more sharply. From the corner of his eye Adam could see Damien turning to look at him, but Adam kept staring at the road without seeing anything. "My power worked on you before."

"I want to calm down," Adam said honestly, because he really wanted to answer any question Damien might have. "But I'm too scared."

"C'mon, you don't need to be that scared of me," Damien said, as if it was a ridiculous thought. 

"You said you'd hurt me just five minutes ago!" 

"Yeah, but I wasn't serious. I just wanted to mess with them a bit. Jeez, for a second there I thought your boyfriend would actually manage to hit me." He sounded almost impressed.

Caleb. Adam squeezed his eyes shut. Caleb had been so angry, and he would be so scared right now. 

And the others too: Sam, Chloe…

"You hit Chloe."

"She'll be fine! I didn't hit her that hard. I just needed to talk to Frank for a moment." 

Adam could feel his anger melt away, and his fear grew. That must be Damien. Damien didn't want him to be angry, so he wasn't. The only thing Damien didn't seem to be able to stop was his fear.

"What are you going to do?" 

"I'm just going to have a quick chat with your aunt. Make sure she knows who's holding the cards here. She'll give me what I want, I'll let you go, everyone's happy." 

Adam didn't reply, and Damien shot him a sharp look. "What's wrong?" 

"Caleb said Mark is really scared of Annabelle." 

"Yeah, no wonder," Damien said with a snort. "The things that women did to him, he'd be crazy if he wasn't. Crazier than he already is, that is." 

Until recently he hadn't seen her often, but Adam had always liked Annabelle. Admired her, even. Yes, she could be cutting when she wanted to be and she had no patience for those she deemed too stupid to be worth her while – which seemed to be most people – and she always wanted to be the best, but she was also very smart, and interesting, and funny sometimes, and she seemed genuinely fond of him, too. The idea of her kidnapping Dr. Bright's brother for years and experimenting on him, experimenting on other atypicals… 

Annabelle knew about Caleb. Dr. Bright had said that empathy was a very common power and the AM wouldn't be interested, but what if they changed their mind? 

"I know she's your aunt and all, but you can't trust her," Damien said.

"Yeah." Of course he didn't trust her. Strange: just a moment ago he'd felt conflicted about his feelings for his aunt, but now it seemed crystal clear.

It must have been Damien again, Adam realized. Damien could make him want anything, could apparently even make him think or feel differently, and last time Damien had even messed with his memory. At least it was easier now to realize when he was being influenced than it had been the first two times, maybe because he of repeated exposure, or maybe because he knew more about Damien now. 

Or maybe that's just what he wanted to think. Maybe this whole time he was only doing what Damien wanted him to do.

"Hey, calm down," Damien said, again. "I thought we went over this."

"You could make me do anything," Adam said, because Damien wanted him to tell him what's wrong, so of course he wanted that, too. "You could make me… commit a crime, or, or hurt people, or, do things to me and make me think I want it, or–"

"Shut up," Damien said sharply, and Adam did. "Jeez, kid. I'm not gonna fucking rape you or anything."

"But you could."

"Yeah I could, doesn't mean I'm going to."

That was ridiculous. Adam knew it was ridiculous. Damien had knocked Chloe out, he'd held Mark hostage for months, he was literally kidnapping Adam right this moment in order to blackmail his aunt. But – 

"You want me to trust you," he realized. "You want me to trust you, so I do." Damien wouldn't really hurt him. Adam desperately wanted to believe that.

"That's how my power works," Damien said with a shrug and a hint of a smug grin. "I want something and people do it." 

"That's… cool," Adam said, vaguely aware that he'd meant to use a different word just a second ago. His palms were sweaty. He wiped them on his pants.

"Yeah, it's pretty great. I always get what I want." Adam thought he saw a shadow fly over Damien's face, but then Damien grinned again. He must have imagined it. "That means you're gonna be a good little hostage, we'll go to your aunt, make her give me her little wonder drug, I'll let you go, and we all live happily ever after. Satisfied?" 

Adam nodded. Of course he was. That was exactly what he wanted.

***  


Damien got them a hotel room. He hadn't wanted Adam to pay attention, so Adam had no idea where they were. Damien had also told him not to bother getting too comfortable, because they'd move to a different hotel in a few days anyway.

"You want some food?" Damien asked, sitting down on one of the beds. 

"I thought you wanted to talk with Annabelle."

"Yeah, I'm in no rush. Let her sweat a bit first. Just so she knows who's in charge here." Damien had a mean, ugly look on his face, and Adam looked away. 

He wanted to say something, but was it his own feeling, or was it Damien's? Did Damien want him to talk? Did Damien want him to talk about this specific topic? With Caleb, Adam had become used to paying attention to his own feelings, but this constant second-guessing was already exhausting. Feelings could be treacherous, depression taught him that, but worrying about his mind being manipulated by someone else was a whole other level of uncomfortable.

His mind was full of questions. He tried to choose one that he thought Damien hadn't put there. "Do you even have a plan?" 

"'Course I do."

"Really? Because if you think you can just call Annabelle and she'll immediately hand over what you want, I don't think that's going to happen."

"Oh?" Damien asked, with a dangerous expression. "Why is that? I thought she cared about you."

Adam wanted to answer so badly that he almost stumbled over his words. "She does, but it's not that easy. Even if it is a one-time drug, or a pill, or something, and not something that needs to be administered over a longer period, I doubt she'll just have it lying around at home. It can't be easy to do, or they would have made all the guards immune and you wouldn't have been able to break in."

The dangerous look passed, and Damien relaxed again. "That was months ago," he said with a dismissive gesture. "Maybe it's a new thing."

"Maybe, but maybe not. What if it takes longer to produce, are you just going to keep me here the whole time? What if it's something that has to be administered in a lab?"

"Are you trying to, what, talk me out of it?" Damien asked, amused.

"Believe me, I want you to get what you want as much as you do, and you know that's true. It's not like I have a choice, and this is really freaking me out here."

Damien laughed. "Calm down." 

This time he had to mean it more, because Adam could feel his nerves settling down. He wasn't sure what that meant.

"Hey, look at the bright side, as long as you're here you don't have to go to school. Your parents can't blame you for that one." 

No, they would blame Annabelle, and it would get ugly. "I like school," Adam said instead.

"Really? Nerd," Damien said with a grin. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll catch up quick. You must be a smart one, otherwise Wadsworth wouldn't think you're worth her time."

Adam's lips twitched into a smile. Then he froze. Why was he… Suddenly he remembered his and Caleb's first meeting with Damien: "I want him to like me," Caleb had said, and he'd gotten a double dose of Damien's power. Did Damien want Adam to like him? Already Adam wasn't as scared and angry as he'd been at first. He'd thought he'd just calmed down, but what if Damien was making Adam like him better? 

He wished Caleb was here. Not here with Damien, obviously, but anywhere else with Adam, talking about stupid things and holding hands and all the sappy stuff Adam didn't say out loud. As soon as he got away from here he'd hug his boyfriend for at least ten minutes. For both of their sakes. Caleb would be so freaked right now, angry and terrified and struggling not to be overwhelmed by emotions, and Adam feared that on top of that Caleb would blame himself for not being able to protect him. Which was stupid, there wasn't anything he could have done against Damien's power, and Adam would tell him that as often as he had to. 

A phone was thrust in front of his face, and Adam blinked. He hadn't noticed Damien talking, so Damien must have not wanted him to pay attention. 

"Here," Damien said, "go ahead, tell your aunt you're okay. For now," he added. 

Adam was almost sure the addition was only to mess with Annabelle, but nevertheless his fear spiked again. He took the phone with a slightly trembling hand. "Annabelle?" 

"Adam." Annabelle's voice was firm. It was stupid, because nothing had changed, but Adam still felt a bit reassured. Annabelle would figure out a way to get him out of here.

"I'm okay," he said. "He hasn't hurt me." He could almost see his aunt rolling her eyes. They both knew that Damien could make him say whatever he wanted. 

"We'll get you out of here," Annabelle promised, as if there wasn't a shred of doubt. "You'll be fine."

"I really want to believe that." Which meant that Damien wanted to believe it, which meant he didn't actively want to harm Adam for no reason.

"Clever boy," Annabelle said, with a trace of warmth. 

"Can you tell-"

"That's enough," Damien said and took the phone back. "You heard him, he's fine. And he's going to stay that way, as long as you keep your side of the bargain." He ended the call. 

"So? What did you agree on? When can I go?" 

"You were right," Damien said and grimaced, "she said it's going to take a few days to prepare. But I warned her that she won't like the results if she tries to stall and break the agreement."

Adam didn't reply. It scared him how casually Damien talked about hurting him, and he didn't even seem to consider that Adam might be upset. He seemed completely unconcerned.

"I'm going to get food, do you want some?" 

Adam nodded, and Damien stood up. He stopped at the door and hesitated. "Do you want… something else? I don't know, books, whatever?" 

"Couldn't you just want me to not be bored?" Adam said, annoyed at the reminder that he was stuck. 

"I don't really care enough about that," Damien said dismissively. 

"Then why bother?"

"I was told it's… polite." 

"Told? Who… It was Mark, wasn't it. When you held him captive for three months. Did-" Adam stopped. He didn't really want to talk about that anymore. 

"Look, do you want some books or not," Damien asked, clearly annoyed. 

"Yes. Books would be good."

"Fantastic," Damien said, and he slammed the door shut behind him when he left.

He didn't lock the door. He didn't have to, and he knew it, because Adam wanted to stay in that room. Damien made Adam want to stay, and even though rationally he knew he really wanted to get away, Damien must want it badly enough to override his own instincts. Adam stayed in that room, scared of his own mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Adam threw a look at the alarm clock when he heard Damien's key unlock the door. It had been eighteen minutes this time. The longest Damien had been away was twenty minutes, and even then Adam hadn't been able to leave. He thought Dr. Bright had said Damien's ability usually wore off after fifteen minutes, but maybe it depended on the situation and how strongly he wanted something. After three months of practice at keeping Dr. Bright's brother prisoner, Damien probably had it all figured out. 

He'd kept his word and brought Adam books, but even though previously Adam would have said that he could spend days happily reading, after three days cooped up in a hotel room with nothing else to do Adam was bored, anxious, and restless. Nothing on TV held his attention either. He would like to know how Mark had stood it without going crazy. He probably had his own shit to deal with, just with coming back from the 18th century. 

Adam paused for a moment to think about how strange his life had become. Empathy was pretty cool, but time travel? Once this was all over he would have to try and get Sam to tell him all about her most exciting trips. She could control it to a certain extent, so maybe he could ask her to go to specific points in time. Maybe she could figure out who killed Kennedy, stuff like that – not that anyone would ever believe her, but it would be cool to know. Caleb would love it too.

Adam groaned and hid his face in his hands. He had to stop thinking about Caleb all the time. That was hard even on a normal day, but now that he was worried if Caleb was okay it seemed almost impossible. He'd begged Damien to let him call Caleb, just once, just for a short little while, but Damien had said no. For no good reason, except that he was a paranoid jerk. 

"You okay, kid?" Damien asked casually as he walked into the room.

"Yeah," Adam said and looked up. "Did you bring pizza?"

He knew it would be pizza because that's what he wanted, which meant that Damien wanted it. Damien's abilities didn't affect Adam's appetite all the time – he hadn't even noticed until he one evening he suddenly found himself wishing his curry was spicier – but often enough to make him doubt his own perceptions even more.

"Yeah. The one with pineapples," Damien said cheerfully and put the boxes on the coffee table. 

For the first time in his life Adam did not immediately think that putting pineapples on pizza was a terrible idea. He opened his mouth to complain about his unwilling change of heart, but then closed it quickly. He did not want to have long conversations with Damien, he was too afraid of the possible results. Except he did also want to make conversation with Damien. It made his head hurt. 

Nevertheless Adam stood up from his bed to sit down to eat with Damien, because Damien wanted him to. Closely examining every single impulse he had was exhausting, but he didn't dare stop, because the prospect of not even noticing anymore when he was being influenced was terrifying. Why did Damien want Adam to talk with him anyway, was he feeling bored, or lonely? That was his own damn fault. Adam tried hard to ignore the part of him that wanted to feel pity. It most likely wasn't even him.

"Dig in," Damien said. "I got dessert too." 

Pineapple on pizza still tasted bad, which was reassuring. Adam still wanted it, but at least his tastebuds weren't fooled.

"What's the matter?" Damien asked when he saw Adam grimace. 

"I don't like pineapple on pizza," Adam said shortly. "Not tuna, either."

"But you – oh."

"Yeah." Adam took another bite. 

"I can get you something else," Damien offered. He looked a bit embarrassed, a bit intrigued, and a bit annoyed.

"Why should you? I want pineapple pizza." Just shut up and drop it, Adam thought to himself.

"It's not like I'm doing it on purpose! It…" Suddenly Damien stopped, with a peculiar look on his face. 

"What is it?"

Damien didn't reply. He stood up and walked to the door, out of Adam's sight. Adam heard him open the door. 

"Hello, Damien," a familiar voice said. 

Adam jerked. He saw Damien walk backwards into the room, his hands balled into fists, and moments later Dr. Bright's brother stepped into the room. 

"Mark!" Adam exclaimed, standing up quickly. "Are you okay? Are the others okay?"

"Everyone's fine," Mark said. He looked away from Damien and gave Adam a tense smile. "Very worried about you, but fine."

"You look terrible," Adam said without thinking. Mark had dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept for days. 

"Thanks," Mark said with short laugh. 

"Why are you here. Are you working for Wadsworth now?" Damien growled. He'd stopped against the desk in the middle of the room.

"No!" Mark said loudly, surprised. "I'm not working for her. How could you even ask me that?"

"Then how did you find me." Damien had a wild look on his face.

"Sam found you. She went back in time three days ago and watched where you took Adam." 

"I didn't realize she could go back such a short time span," Adam said. He would think about the potentially creepy implications later. 

"Neither did she. It took her a while to figure out, that's why it took a few days." 

"That's fine," Adam said quickly. "No complaints here. Is Caleb here?"

"He's nearby. He wanted to come, but we thought it was better to keep him away from Damien, just in case."

"Oh, yeah, good point." Adam looked back at Damien, who was still staring angrily at Mark, and then back to Mark, who looked like he was trying very hard not to give in to his anger. "Wait, how are you even doing this? You couldn't stop Damien when he took me." If Mark could cancel out Damien's power, as Caleb had said he'd done before, then Adam should already be out the door. However when he examined his feelings he noticed that he still didn't actively want to leave, so Damien must still have a certain degree of influence. But neither did he want to stay, and that would be enough. It had to be.

"Sorry about that," Mark said. "It's harder with many different atypicals around. Joanie thinks…" 

"Oh, _Joanie_ thinks," Damien mocked. "Didn't they find out all about your powers during their little experiments at the AM? I bet they have the exact data on it. I bet Wadsworth…" 

"Shut up." 

"I can't believe you'd betray me like this," Damien hissed.

"Betray you?" Mark shouted. "You kidnapped a teenager, Damien! What did you think I was going to do, sit by and watch it happen? You're crazy!"

"Yeah, and now? Wadsworth is waiting just outside, isn't she? Are you going to hand me over to the AM, just like that? Despite what they did to you?"

"Shut up!"

"Oh, but you don't want me to." Damien's tone became more confident again, the smooth voice he used when he relied on the fact that everything would go his way just because he wanted it to. Which was pretty much all the time. "You want me to talk you out of it. You know what they would do to me. You don't want that to happen."

Mark shut his eyes. Suddenly alarmed, Adam took a step forward. "So you just want him to let you go? So you can come after me again?" If Mark hesitated, would Damien be able to overpower him again? Maybe Adam should run out while he still could. Damien wouldn't hurt Mark. 

"Not now," Damien said, as if it was obvious. "Now I know that you could find me."

"Oh and that makes it so much better!" His hands had clenched into fists without his notice. Suddenly he was angry again, so much angrier than he'd been the last few days. It made him pause. "Wait, did you make me want to not be angry at you?" 

Damien shrugged. "Yeah. And now he wants you to be angry at me." 

"Oh, I'm plenty angry at you all on my own." 

"You threatened Sam," Mark said through grit teeth. "You threatened all of us."

"Aw, I only wanted to scare Dr. B."

"Well you fucking succeeded!" 

"Mark, are you okay?" Damien was blocking the way between Adam and the door, and Adam didn't want to come close to him. Damien might decide to knock him out, the way he had Chloe. Instead Adam stepped on the beds to reach Mark from the side, never taking his eyes off the other two.

"No, not really," Mark said. He took a deep breath and straightened. "But Adam's right. Damien, I don't like it, but I can't just let you go. You're too dangerous."

Mark sounded resolute, and Damien's eyes widened, as if he hadn't understood how serious Mark was before. "You can't just hand me over to the AM, Mark!" Damien almost shouted. He took two steps forward. 

"Why not? You left me no choice!" Mark shouted back. More calmly, he continued: "Joanie talked with Wadsworth. She guaranteed that you'd be kept safe, there would be no experiments, and safeguards in place to check they're not doing anything… anything." 

"Let's just go," Adam urged. Damien was standing just an arm's length away, and Adam had to brace himself to go stand next to Mark. Mark barely seemed to hear him. Adam thought about touching him, but he wasn't sure if it would help or distract him. 

Damien looked incredulous. "You can't trust Wadsworth! Have you forgotten what she did to you? She…" 

"I did not forget," Mark said sharply, as Damien abruptly shut up. "I hate Wadsworth, I certainly don't trust her, but you left me no choice. I'm not going to risk the safety of my friends and family for you."

"You can't," Damien said urgently. "You don't want to, I know you don't want to…" Disbelief, hurt, and a trace of fear were clearly visible on his face. Adam looked away, uncomfortable. The door was only a few feet away, and it was still open.

"I'm doing it anyway," Mark said, though it sounded as if speaking the words was difficult. "Wadsworth will be here soon. Adam, let's go," he said, turned and walked to the door.

For a moment Adam thought Damien was going to attack them. "Mark!" Damien shouted. Suddenly Adam wanted nothing more than for Mark not to leave him, to stay with him, to stay with him forever… 

He grabbed Mark's arm. Mark turned and looked at him, and now all Adam wanted was to leave, to get away as quickly as possible. He felt dizzy.

"C'mon," Mark said, tugging him along. They walked out the door and into the hallway. 

"The door," Adam said. His heart was racing. Damien could still come after them. 

"It's okay," Mark said, and Adam gripped his arm tighter. He wished that Mark wanted him to not be afraid. Then he realized he'd just wanted someone to manipulate his emotions, and horror threatened to choke him.

"Hey, it's okay, it's okay, calm down," Mark said. He took Adam by both shoulders and looked into his eyes. "Calm down." 

Adam's heart rate and breathing slowed. Just for a few seconds, then his own reaction made the fear well up again. He knew, or at least he trusted that Mark wouldn't hurt him, but he was still being manipulated, he still couldn't trust his own mind, he didn't know…

Mark cursed. "I'm trying," he said loudly, and Adam flinched away from his sudden anger. "Shit, sorry," Mark said immediately. "I'm really not good at this… Yeah, I know! I'll bring him down." 

Adam looked up in confusion and saw for the first time that Mark was wearing a small earpiece. "Is that…" he asked.

"It's… oh! Yes, of course." Mark pulled the ear piece out and offered it to Adam. Adam wanted to put it in. He shivered. He had to trust Mark. He put the ear piece in.

"Adam!" 

"Caleb?" 

"Adam, thank god." Caleb sounded like a huge weight had fallen off his chest. "You're okay? You'll be okay, I promise. Just follow Mark, and I'm right downstairs, okay?"

"Okay," Adam managed. The elevator wasn't far. Adam wondered what Mark's range was: if they left and Damien was outside of Mark's range, wouldn't Damien just run and escape? Surely there must be a second exit somewhere. And then what would stop Damien from coming after him again?

The elevator door opened when they were just a few feet away, and Annabelle walked out.

"Wadsworth," Mark hissed, and suddenly Adam was furious and terrified of her. He flinched. 

"Mark," Annabelle said coldly, sparing him a brief glance, and then looked Adam over. "Adam, are you all right?" 

Adam nodded. 

"Stop influencing him," Annabelle ordered Mark.

"I can't control it well enough!" Mark said angrily. "You're not supposed to be here." 

"I thought it prudent to make sure Damien doesn't _accidentally_ escape," Annabelle said with a sharp smile, and Adam felt relieved.

"I wouldn't," Mark protested. 

"Then everything is fine, isn't it? Adam, wait for me downstairs. Your parents will be here soon." 

Adam nodded again.

"Great," Annabelle said briskly and walked past them. She was holding a taser. 

"Adam? Can you give Mark the earpiece back, please?" Dr. Bright asked him calmly, and Adam did. 

Mark put the earpiece back in and took a deep breath. "Yeah. Yeah, it's fine," he said. He turned to Adam as they entered the elevator: "He'll be out of my range as soon as we leave the floor."

"Okay," Adam said. Mark had gotten him away from Damien, but right now Adam wanted nothing more than to get away from Mark. The elevator was small and they were just an arm's length apart, and Adam's skin itched with the urge to flee. Come to think of it, that was probably a sign that it really had worn off. 

The elevator doors opened again.

"Adam!" 

Suddenly Caleb was there, squeezing him so hard it almost hurt. Adam exhaled and relaxed. Normally he would complain that Caleb was crushing him, but he was too happy to be back with his boyfriend to care. He knew, of course he knew and now better than ever, that Caleb couldn't protect him from everything, but nevertheless he felt safer than he had in days.

"You're okay, you're okay," Caleb was muttering into his hair. 

"Hey," Adam said, lifting his head, "I'm fine now. You can feel it, right? I'm fine."

"I was so worried," Caleb said, "I'm so glad you're okay…" Caleb's gaze wandered over Adam's face, as if reassuring himself that Adam really was whole and there wasn't some part of him missing. For the first time in days, Adam grinned slightly. Caleb smiled broadly in return, and they just stood there, smiling at each other. Adam imagined his relief and happiness growing like a balloon in yellow-gold and orange, and he was almost convinced he could see Caleb feel it. 

"You're blocking the door," an amused voice said. 

"Sorry, Dr. Bright," Caleb said. Neither of them wanted to let go, however, so they awkwardly shuffled to the side so that Mark could leave the elevator. 

"Sorry, guys, but…"

"Adam!" 

Unwilling to break free, Adam turned in Caleb's arms and saw his parents walk quickly toward him, almost at a run. His dad looked very worried, and his mom looked angry. They were intercepted by Dr. Bright and Chloe, who winked at Adam and then started talking quickly, and Adam was grateful for the extra few uninterrupted moments with his boyfriend.

Adam braced himself. "I have to go with them," he said. Caleb's arms loosened, and Adam took a small step back. "I'll call you as soon as I can." 

"As soon as you can," Caleb repeated, nodding. "I… will you be all right?" He mirrored both Adam's relief and his nervousness. But that was all he was doing, he wasn't influencing it – apart from the normal way, by being himself. 

Adam gave him a quick kiss. "I will," he promised. "You, too." 

"I will," Caleb agreed.

'It's okay,' Adam thought clearly, and when he turned he saw Chloe lead Dr. Bright to the side. As always when he saw Chloe's power in action, he couldn't help a spark of excitement about how cool it was. This time however it was accompanied by an uneasy memory of worse mind-affecting powers. With an effort he shoved it aside.

"Adam," his dad said, his voice rough, and Adam found himself enveloped in a tight hug by both of his parents.

"I'm okay," Adam said, muffled against his dad's shoulder, "I'm fine now," and right then it felt like the truth.


	3. Chapter 3

Caleb opened the door only seconds after Adam rang the bell, and Adam wondered if he'd waited in the hallway. By now both of them had a good grasp on how long it took to get to each other's houses.

"I'm so glad to see you," Caleb said immediately.

"Same here. Though my parents aren't happy about it," Adam added. That was putting it mildly. They'd wanted him to cut all contact with Caleb. 

"I can't entirely blame them. You got kidnapped, I don't want to let you out of my sight either."

"I told them I was sick of being told I couldn't leave."

Caleb winced and nodded. "Regular check-ins probably, right?"

"Yeah." 

"Got it. My parents and sister are out, by the way," Caleb said as they went to his room.

"Why?"

"They, uh… I told them you were coming, and they decided to give us space."

"That's not necessary," Adam protested.

"It's for me," Caleb said, looking away. "After… after Damien kidnapped you, I… didn't react very well. I was freaked out, and that freaked my parents out, and then we were all just worried all the time… It wasn't a good time. It's easier when there are fewer people around. Mom and dad told the school I was sick."

Caleb clearly didn't want to talk about it. "Did you tell your parents everything?" 

"Yeah. Well, mostly. They know about Damien, and that he kidnapped you. They were pretty pissed at Dr. Bright, even though I told them it's not her fault. Then they got really interested in the AM, and if there's a special police force for atypical threats – I think my dad was thinking of the X-Men."

Adam only managed a weak smile. "That would be convenient."

"Yeah."

They sat down on Caleb's bed; there was a brief moment on confusion when they weren't sure if they wanted to sit next to each other or opposite, and they ended up lying next to each other. 

Adam wanted to be close because this was Caleb, his boyfriend, and they hadn't seen each other since before the kidnapping so it was natural he wanted him near. It was what he wanted, not – and then he remembered, again, that it was over.

Caleb propped himself up on one elbow and frowned. "Adam? Are you okay?"

Adam took a deep breath. "Yeah. I'm fine. It's just… Every time I wanted something I tried to think it through, to find out if it was from me or Damien. I don't have to do that anymore, but I still do it sometimes. I hate it."

"That… sucks." Caleb grimaced. "It'll get better, though, right?" 

"Yeah, of course. I just want it over with."

Caleb nodded. "So, that's what happened right now? You wanted something?"

"Yeah," Adam said and felt himself blush.

"What was it?" Caleb asked, grinning like he already knew. 

Adam didn't know why he was so fond of him. That was a lie. "I was thinking I want to be close, okay? I really missed you, and…"

Caleb was already shifting and scooting up on the bed until he was half lying, half sitting against the headboard. He gestured at Adam to do the same, and when Adam did, Caleb put his arm around him.

Caleb looked happy. Adam leaned even closer and thought that Caleb must surely feel the same from him. For a short while they just sat there and enjoyed it.

"I was really worried about you," Adam said quietly. His head was lying against Caleb's shoulder and he wasn't looking at his boyfriend's face.

"You? About me?" Caleb began to shift, then realized that it would dislodge Adam and stilled again. "You were the one who was kidnapped!" 

"Yeah, but I didn't want to worry about me. Most of the time I couldn't, anyway, he didn't want me to. But I knew you'd be scared, and I just… you looked so angry when Damien took me. I didn't know what you'd do."

Out of the corner of his eye Adam could see Caleb let his head fall back against the wall. "I was so fucking angry. God, I was furious… If I'd been able to move…" His arm around Adam tightened.

"Caleb, hey! It's fine."

"It's not fine! He fucking kidnapped you! Mark said he wouldn't hurt you, but Mark also hadn't thought he'd kidnap you in the first place, and none of us knew what Wadsworth was planning, and your parents were pissed, and everyone was angry, and guilty, and scared, and–"

"Caleb!" Adam put a hand on his boyfriend's chest. "Breathe!"

Slowly, Caleb's breathing slowed down again. "Sorry," he muttered. "That's been happening more often." 

"It's fine." 

"I'm gonna need a new therapist. My parents don't want me to see Dr. Bright anymore. I told them I need her until I find someone new, and it's not like you find therapists familiar with atypicals on every corner, especially because I don't want to go to the AM. Dr. Bright said she'll look into it." 

"That sounds like a good idea." Adam already had an appointment with his own therapist the next day. Dr. Rivers knew nothing about atypicals, and Adam wondered how he could possibly explain what it felt like to be under Damien's influence to someone who didn't even know abilities like that existed. 

"Hey, can you feel my emotions right now?"

"I can always feel your emotions." 

"What am I feeling right now?"

"Beige, mostly…" Adam laughed. "Hey, just because I can feel your emotions doesn't mean I always have the words for them," Caleb defended himself. "You know that."

"I do," Adam said with a smile. 

"Anyway, you're… well, now you're amused. A bit calmer. Still worried. A bit anxious… and a bit…" Caleb blushed again. "Why do you want to know?"

Adam shrugged and didn't look at Caleb. "I always wondered which parts of what I was feeling were me, and which parts were Damien. But you'd notice if he was influencing me, right?" 

"I don't know," Caleb said reluctantly. "Now I know what I'd be looking for, but if I was standing right next to you? He probably wouldn't want me to notice, so I wouldn't." 

"Yeah, but like, later."

"Dr. Bright said his ability wears off quickly." Caleb sat up straighter and turned to him, alarmed.

"I know! I'm sure she's right. And I don't feel any different. I just… I worried so much about it the past few days, I think it'll take a while for me to stop."

"Oh. Well, you can ask me any time." 

"I know." At least if his parents let him see Caleb.

"You became more worried just now."

Adam grimaced. "Just, my parents. It was hard enough getting them to allow me to come here once. They're still super pissed at Dr. Bright, too. And Annabelle, of course. Annabelle called last night and she and my mom had a big fight." Instead Agent Green had come over to ask Adam some questions about what had happened. 

"Did Annabelle tell you anything about… what happened to…"

"I'm not allowed to talk to her." He wasn't even sure he wanted to. He'd been so wrong about her, and he wanted to hate her for what she did. But Annabelle would make sure that Damien was locked away and would never be a threat again, and he couldn't help feeling relieved and grateful for that. "I figured I'd ask Dr. Bright later, or Sam. Or I'll invite Chloe."

"Do your parents know about her?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. I know that asking Chloe to read my people's minds is not cool, but…"

"I get it." 

"I think my parents want me to stay away from anyone that has anything to do with atypicals. Hypocrits. They're not too happy that I know about their work with the military, either. I think they want to talk to me about it, but…" Adam consciously stopped his fingers from playing with the comforter. "What if it's terrible?"

"Maybe you could… talk to Frank about it? He doesn't really love talking about it, but I'm sure for you he would. He feels really bad about what happened. The kidnapping, I mean, not the military. I mean…"

"Yeah, maybe."

"You could also…" Caleb hesitated. "Frank's been trying to convince Chloe to take self-defense lessons. You know, just in case."

Adam turned his head to look at him. "Do you think it's a good idea?"

"I know you don't really like that sort of stuff, and hopefully you won't ever need it, but… it can't hurt, right? I mean…"

"I get it." Self-defense wouldn't help against someone like Damien – at least not for him, he couldn't keep him out of his mind like Chloe could – but it would probably make his parents happy. If it convinced them that he was being careful so they wouldn't try to stop him from seeing Caleb, it would be worth the extra sports. At least for a while, until they calmed down.

"Turns out I'm not much of a superhero," Caleb said, looking away.

"Hey." Adam hesitated, then said: "You're a superhero in all the ways I need you to be, okay?" He would feel embarrassed saying it to anyone else – he still felt a bit embarrassed – but he knew Caleb could feel how he meant it, and he knew Caleb liked it. 

"Stop feeling so sappy," Caleb said, squirming, but he was smiling again. 

"I'm just…" Adam sat up, turned around, and straddled Caleb's hips. "I'm just happy to have you with me again, okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, me too." Caleb put his arms around Adam's waist. "I'm so fucking glad you're back," he said fervently. "I was so worried… He said he'd hurt you, and I didn't know…"

"Hey. He never physically hurt me, okay? I'm okay. I'll be okay," he amended, thinking of the nightmares he'd had the night before: he'd dreamed of being back in that hotel room with Damien standing over him, Damien saying _I only wanted you to think you'd escaped_ , and saying, _now I have to show them I'm really serious_ , and… 

Adam leaned forward and rested his forehead against Caleb's. "I'll be okay," he repeated. "Just… give me a few days."

"As many as you need," Caleb promised. He pulled Adam closer.

Adam wanted to hug him, so he did, and in that moment he felt like Damien could never touch him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished my first WIP! Thanks so much for the encouragement. Comments and kudos make me very happy.


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